Electrical terminal applicator



9, 1963 w. BUSLER 3,075,567

ELECTRICAL TERMINAL APPLICATOR Filed Aug. 24, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet 1 aw wI INVENTOR. (Amman L. BusLER Jan. 29., 1963 w. BUSLER ELECTRICALTERMINAL APPLICA'I'OR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed ig 24, 1960 23 Claims. (Ci.153-1) This invention relates to machines for applying an electricalterminal or connector to a wire at a location intermediate the wireends.

Specialized machines for crimping terminals in strip form onto the endsof wires are well-known to the art and are in widespread usage. Suchmachines are usually constructed in a manner such that the terminal canbe applied only to the wire end and not to the wire at a lo: cationintermediate the ends. It is,-however, sometimes desirable or necessaryto crimp a terminal onto a wire intermediate the ends thereof and toperform the crimping operation without bending or otherwise deformingthe wire. 7

An object of the present invention is to provide an im proved terminalapplicator for applying terminals to wires intermediate the endsthereof. A further object is to provide a terminal applicator capable ofcrimping terminals onto wires intermediate their ends without bending orotherwise deforming the wires during the operation. A still furtherobject of the invention is to provide an improved applicatorparticularly adapted to crimp terminals onto wires extending fromrelatively small electrical components which are secured together inspaced-apart, parallel relationship in the form of a belt. A stillfurther object is to provide an applicator for electrical terminalscapable of applying terminals onto the wires extending from beltedcomponents without destruction of the belting itself.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferredembodiment comprising a fixed crimping anvil and a movable crimping diewhich is reciprocable towards and away from the fixed anvil, Adepressible shearing plate is disposed against, and extends above, thefixed anvil and has an elongated slot therein through which terminalscan be fed to the anvil. Adjacent to the depressible shearing plate is aplatform, also depressibly mounted, upon which is provided a terminalfeeding mechanism for feeding a strip of terminals to the lower die. Thepress ram, upon which the movable crimping :die is mounted, also hasmounted thereon a depressor member which, during movement of the ram,first engages the shearing plate to move the slot past the anvil andthereby shear the leading terminal from the strip. Thereafter, thisdepressor member engages the platform,

and lowers the platform and the shearing plate while the movablecrimping die moves towards its bottom dead center position to crimp theterminal onto a wire. The wire itself initially extends across the uppersurface of the shearing plate and over the platform, and is movedrelatively downward into the leading terminal as the crimping operationproceeds in order to avoid bending or otherwise deforming 'it. J

Other objects and attainments of the present invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings inwhich there is 'shown and described an illustrative embodiment of theinvention; it is to be understood, however, that this embodirnent is notintended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but is given forpurposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art mayfully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the manner-of applying it in practical use so that they may modify it "end of thecylinder.

in various forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of aparticular use.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a portion of a belt of electrical components;

FIGURE 3 is a side view, partly in section, showing the terminalfeed-mechanism, the crimping die and anvil, and the shearing mechanismof the preferred embodiment;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are fragmentary views similar to FIGURE 3 but showingonly the crimping zone of the apparatus and illustrating the shearingoperation;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 66 of FIGURE 3;

I FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the terminal feed mechanism andshearing mechanism; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary view showing the terminal feed finger andillustrating the manner in which it engages the strip of terminals.

FIGURE 2 shows a short section of belting 2 comprising a group ofcomponents, such as capacitors or resistors, each having a central bodyportion 4, from the ends of which extend wires 6. Electrical componentsof this type are frequently quite small and are manufactured as discreteunits so that they present a packaging and handling problem,particularly when it is desired to handle them in large numbers. Thebelt of FIGURE 2 was primarily devised as a convenient method ofpackaging such small components, and is formed by simply aligning thecomponents in parallel relationship and securing them in the positionsshown by means of strips of tape 8 which extend parallel to each othernear the ends of the wires. When components of the type shown in FIGURE2 are used in printed circuit boards, as is frequently the case, thewires 6 must be cut to a relatively short length and terminals or tips 7must be crimped onto 'the wire ends. The wires are then bent and thetips inserted into openings in the printed circuit board and soldered tothe conducting paths of the board by immersing the entire board in asolder bath.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the instant invention,the terminals 7 are crimped onto the wires 6 at locations between thecentral body portions of the components and the tapes 8 while thecomponents are still in the form ,of the belt. The components can thenbe removed from the belt by merely severing the wire of each componentat a location adjacent the crimpedon connectors for subsequent use in aprinted circuit board. It will be appreciated that this arrangementperrnits the components to be retained in the convenient belt form, evenafter the terminals are secured thereto and until it is desired toremove them for assembly to an electronic circuit.

Turning now to FIGURE 1, the preferred embodiment of the inventioncomprises a press having a generally 0- shaped casting 10, to which ispivotally secured at 14 a piston-cylinder 12 from which a piston rod 16extends. -In the disclosed form, the cylinder is of the single-actingtype and a return spring 20 is provided to return the piston to itsstarting position after it has been moved 'upwardly by fluid pressure.This return spring acts between a crosshead 18 and a plate 22 secured tothe lower Piston rod 16 is pivotally secured at its upper end by meansof a clevis to one end of a lever 24 which, in turn, is pivotallymounted at 26 on the upper end of the press casting. The opposite end ofthe lever has a pivotal connection 28 with a toggle link 30 which, inturn, is pivotally connected to a ram :32. I This ram, which is notshown in detail in FIGURE 1,

M is contained within the press casting and is retained in place by acover plate 34 secured to the casting.

A base plate 36 is mounted on the lower portion of the press casting andsupports the various crimping and feeding and severing mechanisms whichwill now be described. A lower crimping die or anvil 38 having aterminal supporting surface 40 is mounted on this base plate by means ofa pair of anvil holders 42, 44. The anvil is clamped between theseholders, as shown in FIGURE 7, by means of screws 46 which extendthrough the anvil holder 42, through aligned openings in the anvilitself, and into threaded openings in the anvil holder 44. These anvilholders, in turn, are secured to a generally U-shaped base block 50 bymean-s of screws 48, and the base block, in turn, is mounted on theplate 36 by means of screws 52 extending through the bottom thereof. Aplate 54 is clamped against the open end of base block 50' by means ofthe screws 48 which extend from the anvil holders through alignedopenings in plate 54. This end plate 54 has a central channel 56 (FIG-URE 3) which faces the anvil holders, and in which is disposed ashearing plate 58 having a central, elongated slot 60 and a pair ofrelatively shorter slots 62 on each side thereof. The screws 49 extendthrough these shorter slots and retain the shearing plate in theposition shown, while permitting relative downward movement of the plateas viewed in FIGURES 3 and 6. The plate is normally biased upwardly bymeans of springs 64 acting between recessed screws in base plate 36 andextending into corresponding aligned recesses in the shearing plate. Theupper edge of the shearing plate is provided with a notch 66 to assistin positioning the wire during a. crimping operation as explained below.

In, operation, this shearing plate moves downwardly and the upper edge70 of the slot 60 moves relatively past terminal supporting surface 40,thereby to sever the slug or connecting section 68 of the strip ofterminals which connects the leading terminal of the strip to the nextadjacent terminal. This slug or connecting portion of the strip mustthen be disposed of, and to this end there is provided a centraldepression 74 in the channel 56 of the plate 54 and the upper end ofthis depression is, in turn, beveled as shown at 72 to guide the slugsdownwardly and into an opening 73 in the base plate.

A depres-sible support block 76 is mounted in the opening defined by theU-shaped block 50 and the plate 54. This block has a recess on itsunderside, in which is mounted a spring 78 which acts between the blockand a recess in the base plate 36 to bias the plate upwardly as viewedin FIGURE, 3. A laterally extending foot 80 is provided on block 76 andnormally bears. against base block 5% to act as a stop and limit upwardmovement of the depressible support. A platform 82 is secured by screws83 to the upper surface of block 76 and extends rearwardly of the pressA central groove or channel 84 of this platform extends across the uppersurface of this platform and towards the terminals supporting surface oftheanvil to define a feed path for the terminal strip. As is apparentfrom FIGURE 3, the bottom of this channel is substantially level withthe terminal supportingsurface of the anvil when the parts are in theirnormal position. Advantageously, a hold-down plate 86 is provided toclamp the terminal strip in the channel 84 and to prevent overfeeding ofthe strip during operation. This holddown plate has a central rib 88which projects inwardly of the sidewalls ofthe terminals and clampsthem. lightly against the bottom of the channel. The plate itself isnormally biased downwardly against the platform by means of springs 9tlwhich act betweenthesurface of the plate 86 and. the nuts 92- on theends of rods 96. which extend from the platform and through. slots onthe. op; pQsite sides, of the. plate. The. right-hand side. of theplate, as viewed in FIGURE 7, bears against the upper surface ofplatform 82 while the left side is held slightly above the platformsurface by means of screws 98. These screws are threaded throughopenings in the plate and have hemispherical ends which bear against theplatform surface. The hold-down plate thus pivots about its right handside and is resiliently biased in a counter-clockwise direction asviewed in FIGURE 7.

The terminal strip is fed by means of a feed finger on the underside ofplatform 82-. The end of this feed finger extends upwardly through aslot 104 in the platform and is provided with ears 102 which engage theconnecting tabs 68 of the strip as best shown in FIG- URE 8. Theopposite end of the finger is pivotally con nected at 106 to a slidemember 108, and a spring 110, interposed between the finger andtheslide, normally biases the feed finger upwardly to the position shown inFIGURE 3. Advant-ageously, a lever 111 is provided on the finger formoving the finger in a counterclockwise direction and out of engagementwith the strip for pur-- poses of adjustment. Slide block 108 is securedto the end of a piston rod 112 of a pneumatic piston-cylinder 114mounted on the underside of the platform. It will be apparent thatduring each cycle of operation, the piston-cylinder 114 is actuated andthe feed finger is driven leftwardly to feed the terminal strip and isthen retracted to its starting position.

The end of the platform which is adjacent to the shearing plate 58 hasbolted thereto a guide plate 116 having a rib, similar to the rib 88,extending into groove 84 to control the movement and the position of theend portion of the strip in order to insure precise feeding thereof tothe crimping die. A fixed shearing plate 118 is mounted in a recess inthe end of the platform for cooperation with the depressible shearingplate 58 so that as the movable shearing plate moves downwardly, theconnecting slug will be severed by the shearing action of the edge 7 0of the slot in the depressible shearing plate and the edge of the fixedshearing plate 118.

The press ram 32 has mounted on its lower end 'a movable crimping die119 having a. central slot 121 which receives the lower crimping diewhen the ram moves relatively downwardly. A depressor 123 is alsosecured to the ram and has foot portions 129, 131 for engagement withthe movable shearing plate and the platform respectively. The footportion 129 is slotted as shown in FIGURES 3 and 6, so that it straddlesthe wire when it engages shearing plate 58 as described below.

Quite frequently after the terminal has been crimped onto the wire, theterminal becomes jammed or stuck within the slot of the upper crimpingdie, and it is necessary to exert a slight downward force on the wire toremove it therefrom. To this end, there is provided a pair of strippingblades 125 and 127 on each side of the upper crimping die which aremounted by means of brackets 25 on the block 50. These stripper bladesengage the wire upon relative upward movement of the ram and dislodgethe crimped terminal from the slot 121 of the crimper when necessary.

The strip of terminals is conveniently supplied from a reel mounted on aspindle adjacent to the press, and is led. from the reel through a guidetube 122 on the base of the press and over an apron 124to the channel orgroove 84 of the platform.

The invention is of utility wherever it is: desired to crimp a terminalon a wire intermediate the ends thereof without bending or otherwisedeforming the wire- The instant embodiment of the invention isparticularly intended for components in-belted form as described above,and tofacilitate the handling of components-in this form there areprovided on each side of the crimping die a pair of aprons 1'42 mountedon brackets 144 on the base plate 36.- For thepurpose of positioningtheindividual components-and their wires with respect to the'crimpi'n'gdie, there is provided a pair of positioners 126, 128

having slots 130 therein for reception of the wires. Positioner 126 hasa base 132 thereon which is secured to the upper end of an L-shapedbracket 134. This positioner is slotted to receive the anvil 38 and ispositioned adjacent to the anvil with its slot in alignment with thenotch in the crimping or shearing plate as shown in FIGURE 3. Thepositioner 128 is mounted on a hinge section 138 which is pivotallyconnected with a second hinge section 140 on the face of the plate 134,a spring being provided to bias the upper hinge section to the positionshown in FIGURE 3. This arrangement of mounting the positioning device128 on a hinge permits it to be conveniently moved out of the way whennecessary for servicing of the machine.

The air supply for the press cylinder 12 and the terminal feed cylinder114 may be of conventional form and need not be described in detailhere. It is sufficient to say that in the disclosed embodiment of thepress, a time delay valve 146 is provided for controlling the air supplyto both the main cylinder 12 and the feed cylinder 114 upon actuation ofa single inlet valve (not shown). The inlet valve is advantageously ofthe foot-controlled type so that the operators hands are free tomanipulate the belt. In accordance with the preferred method ofoperating the press, the foot valve is opened and air is first suppliedthrough valve 146 to the main cylinder 12 and, at the conclusion of thepress cycle, to the terminal feed cylinder 114.

In use, at the beginning of an operating cycle, the parts will be in theposition shown in FIGURES 1 and 3 with the feed finger in its retractedposition and with a previously fed terminal on the terminal supportingsurface of the anvil. The operator, at the beginning of the crimpingoperation, manipulates the belt and positions the wire onto which aterminal is to be crimped in the positioners 12 6, 128, with one side ofthe component against the side of positioner 126 thereby accurately tolocate the terminal with respect to the wire. The wire extending fromthe opposite side of the component will be disposed in the slot in thefront positioner 128 as shown in the perspective view of FIGURE 1. Theportion of the belt which extends beyond the crimping die and theshearing plate will lie over the platform, and the section of wirebetween the crimping die and the tape will be located in the notch 66 onthe upper surface of the shearing plate.

After the parts have been positioned in this manner, the operatoractuates the foot valve and the piston rod 16 moves upwardly and the ram32 downwardly as viewed in FIGURE 1. During such movement, thebifurcated foot 129 of the depressor first engages the upper surface ofthe shearing plate, and this plate is depressed as shown in FIGURE 4until the upper edge of the notch moves past the lower edge of theterminal supporting surface of the anvil and past the shearing blade orplate 113. Upon such movement, the connecting slug 68 between theterminal on the anvil and the next adjacent terminal is removed andfalls downwardly as indicated in FiGURE 4. At this intermediate stage ofthe cycle, the terminal will have been captured by the slot 121 in thecrimping die so that it cannot change its position relative to the dieor move off of the die. As the shearing plate continues to movedownwardly, the entire section of the belt in the immediate vicinity ofthe die also moves downwardly until the wire is positioned in theleading terminal on the anvil. Thereafter, the foot 131 of the depressorengages the platform and both the shear ing plate and the platform moverelatively downwardly as the terminal is crimped onto the wire by inwardbending and curling of its sidewalls. It will be apparent that since thewire moves downwardly as the crimping operation takes place, it is notbent by the crimper. The ram thereafter moves upwardly and the crimpingdie carries with it the crimped terminal which will have become lodgedwithin the slot. As the crimping die moves past the plate or blades-125, 127, the wedged terminal will be ejected therefrom and the beltwill once more be free of the crimping mechanism. The operator can thenadjust the belt to position the wire extending from the next adjacentcomponent over the crimping anvil. After upward movement of the ram, theterminal feed mechanism is also actuated by time delay valve 146 so thata terminal will be positioned on the terminal supporting surface for thenext succeeding cycle of the press.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for crimping a terminal onto a wire at a locationintermediate the ends thereof comprising, a fixed crimping anvil havinga terminal supporting surface thereon, a reciprocable ram having acrimping die thereon for cooperation with said anvil, means for feedingconnectors in end-to-end strip form to said anvil, a shearing platedisposed adjacent to said anvil in a plane extending transversely of,and intersecting, the path of feed of} said strip, said shearing plateextending beyond said terminal supporting surface and being resilientlybiased towards said ram, an opening in said shearing plate to permitfeeding of said terminals to said anvil, and means on said ram forengaging said shearing plate during movement of said ram thereby to movesaid open ing past said terminal supporting surface and to shear theleading terminal of said strip from the end thereof.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including a platform having onesurface which is normally substantially coplanar with respect to saidterminal supporting surface, said platform being resiliently biased toits normal position and being movable in the direction of movement ofsaid ram, and means on said ram for engaging said platform after initialmovement of said shearing plate thereby to move said platform in thedirection of movement of said ram.

3. Apparatus for crimping a terminal onto a wire at a locationintermediate the ends thereof comprising, a reciprocable ram having acrimping die secured thereto and a fixed anvil having a terminalsupporting surface for cooperation with said crimping die, a platformdisposed adjacent to said anvil and having a surface which is normallysubstantially coplanar with said terminal supporting surface, saidplatform being resiliently biased to its normal position and beingmovable in the direction of movement of said ram, terminal feeding meanson said platform for feeding terminals in end-to-end strip form acrosssaid platform surface to position the leading terminal of said strip onsaid terminal supporting surface, a resiliently mounted shearing plateinterposed between said anvil and said platform and normally extendingbeyond the plane of said platform surface towards said ram, saidshearing plate being movable in the direction of movement of said ram,an opening in said shearing plate to permit feeding of said terminalstrip from said platform surface to said terminal supporting surface, afirst depressor means secured to said ram and engageable with saidshearing plate, and a second depressor means on said ram for engagementwith said platform, said first depressor means being engageable withsaid shearing plate prior to engagement of said sec- 0nd depressor meanswith said platform whereby, upon positioning of a wire over said anviland across said shearing plate and platform, and upon actuation of saidram, said opening in said shearing plate is first moved past said firstsurface of said platform thereby to sever said leading terminal fromsaid strip, and said second depressor means thereafter engages andlowers said platform concomitantly with crimping of said leadingterminal onto said wire.

4. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 3 including supporting surfaces oneach side of said crimping die for supporting a belt of electricalcomponents having wires extending from their ends.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim '3 including fixed wire guide meansdisposed on the opposite side of; said 2 ,778,097 fixed anvil from saidshearing plate, said Wire guide 2,945,206 means having a slot extendingparallel to the plane of said anvil for guiding said wire into saidleading terminal.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,760,195 Berg Aug. 28, 1956 8 Berg Jan. 22, 1957 Hammell July 12, 1960FOREIGN PATENTS France May 2, 1960

1. APPARATUS FOR CRIMPING A TERMINAL ONTO A WIRE AT A LOCATIONINTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF COMPRISING, A FIXED CRIMPING ANVIL HAVINGA TERMINAL SUPPORTING SURFACE THEREON, A RECIPROCABLE RAM HAVING ACRIMPING DIE THEREON FOR COOPERATION WITH SAID ANVIL, MEANS FOR FEEDINGCONNECTORS IN END-TO-END STRIP FORM TO SAID ANVIL, A SHEARING PLATEDISPOSED ADJACENT TO SAID ANVIL IN A PLANE EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF,AND INTERSECTING, THE PATH OF FEED OF SAID STRIP, SAID SHEARING PLATEEXTENDING BEYOND SAID TERMINAL SUPPORTING SURFACE AND BEING RESILIENTLYBIASED TOWARDS SAID RAM, AN OPENING IN SAID SHEARING PLATE TO PERMITFEEDING OF SAID TERMINALS TO SAID ANVIL AND MEANS ON SAID RAM FORENGAGING SAID SHEARING PLATE DURING MOVEMENT OF SAID RAM THEREBY TO MOVESAID OPENING PAST SAID TERMINAL SUPPORTING SURFACE AND TO SHEAR THELEADING TERMINAL OF SAID STRIP FROM THE END THEREOF